Once an alternative practice, ethical consuming has found its way into the mainstream marketplace and consumer culture. With the growing acceptance of ethical consumerism, critics have questioned its efficacy as a mechanism of political expression while others have cited the difficulty in consumer decision-making when products can indeed embody multiple and sometimes conflicting values. The aim of this three-day symposium is to bring together cross-disciplinary scholars for the purpose of discussing Canadian examples of ethical consumerism. Junior and senior researchers from both within and outside academia are welcome as one desired outcome of the conference is to foster dialogue between people working on the topic in different environments.

Is ethical consumerism merely a trendy site of 'slacktivism' or rather a lively outgrowth of uniquely Canadian cultural values and a particular political-economic tradition? How are issues of class and buying power to be reconciled so that values-based consumerism doesn’t remain simply a luxury of those who can afford it? We are interested in both contemporary and historical cases and welcome proposals from any time period in Canada and internationally. Research that is comparative in scope is also encouraged.

Proposals for papers of 20 minutes in length are invited. Please send a short abstract (300 words) to lgsumner@gmail.com. Deadline for abstracts is April 10, 2014. Notifications will be sent by the end of April.

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